Martial arts, such as karate, tae kwon do, judo and aikido, have become popular in the United States and worldwide. Even less mainstream martial arts, such as jujitsu, kendo and krav maga, now have significant followings.
As these oriental arts have evolved, nearly all have begun to introduce weapons practice as part of the standard curriculum. One no longer needs to take a sword-oriented martial art such as kendo or iaido to receive instruction in the use of a Japanese sword as this instruction is now offered in other oriental martial arts including karate, jujitsu, aikido and even judo. In addition to the increase in weapons training in oriental martial arts, there has been a resurgence in interest in medieval and western martial styles through the Society for Creative Anachronism, renaissance festivals, fencing and the like, which has also added to the popularity of sword and edged weapons training.
One aspect of sword and edge weapons training that is gaining popularity is actual cutting of targets with real weapons. For example, one element of traditional Japanese sword training is called tameshigiri, or test cutting practice. In traditional tameshigiri, a swordsman practices his swing and posture by cutting a cylindrical target with a sword or other weapon. In traditional tameshigiri, the targets are typically made by rolling tatami omote (a woven rice mat) into a cylinder. Other target are young (i.e. wet) bamboo of various diameters, or cylindrical bails of straw.
Tameshigiri probably represents the most organized form of test cutting training. Its techniques and materials are borrowed by many other arts and styles for similar training. However, the materials and design of test-cutting targets as used in tameshigiri have several drawbacks. First, they are relatively expensive. At $3 to $5 per tatami omote mat, and targets made of 3 or more mats rolled together which are destroyed when used being common, the cost of extensive training is very high.
Second, the current materials and targets made therefrom are messy and require extensive clean up of the training area after practice. Typically a woven mat (tatami) target will partially separate after cutting, releasing a multitude of small individual lengths of straw or whatever the mat is woven out of in the practice area. These are difficult and time consuming to clean up.
Third, they are dangerous to the practitioner in that splinters and sharp edges may result during cutting. This is especially true as most martial arts require exponents to practice barefoot. Small slivers and pieces of target can injure the feet during practice.
Fourth, they can damage the weapons through scratches and abrasions to the cutting surface. This is especially true if ‘used’ tatami mats are made into targets. The used mats typically contain grains of sand and other particles that can scratch the highly polished weapons typically used in such practice. Furthermore, because of the mass of the traditional targets, a poorly executed by powerful cut may result in a bent sword. This makes cutting for beginners a potentially very expensive prospect.
Fifth, they require significant amount of preparation time—often requiring that they be assembled and then soaked in water for at least a day prior to using. The water often becomes foul and stains the vessel used for the soaking.
Sixth, the targets do not have the same cutting properties in different directions. For example, a woven tatami mat rolled into a long, cylindrical target is easily cut along its long axis, but hard to cut perpendicular to its long axis. All natural wood targets also exhibit this trait in one way or another. Cutting the target with the grain is easier than cutting against the grain. This is also a drawback when attempting to recreate kata when doing test cutting. For example, the first kata of most forms of Iaido is a seated form starting with a horizontal cut at the height of the opponent's neck and followed by a an vertical cut to the opponent's body. Because the cuts are in rapid succession to the same location, only a single target can be used. However, a typical target, because the properties are not uniform, is not suitable for such practicing this kata.
Seventh, the properties of the targets, because they are made from natural products such as wood and straw, change from one target to the next. Furthermore, the moisture content of a target has a very significant effect on the cutting properties of the target. These attributes make it difficult to gauge the power and effectiveness of one's cutting from target to target. This also poses a problem in competitions where one competitor can have targets with properties that differ significantly from other competitors' targets.